Knife Education: The "Belly" of a Knife

The belly of a knife begins where the edge starts to curve back towards the tip and ends by forming the edge-side of the tip itself. The more it curves, the more "full" the belly is. Full bellies are useful for many tasks, from skinning game to defensive slashing. Many familiar designs and features exist in part to maximize the fullness of the belly, including the swept back tips on bowie and persian designs, as well as extra wide knife bodies or recurves.